WWE TLC 2012: Why This Is Sheamus' Last Shot at the Big Show

John Cena is the one in WWE who preaches about hustling and never giving up, but Sheamusis the current poster child for perseverance. The Big Show defeated The Great White for the World Heavyweight Championship back in October at Hell in A Cell, but Sheamus has not let up in his quest to regain the title. It has been a hard-hitting, smashmouth feud that has given us one good match at Survivor Series and a Match of the Night when The Big Show won the championship.

For Sheamus, TLC is going to be his final opportunity to finally defeat The Big Show.

The encounters between the two men have always been rough and rugged, far removed from the technical prowess other men can exhibit. Sheamus and The Big Show don't need reversals when their fists do all the work for them. Put them in the ring with the likes of Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro and you forget all about chain wrestling.

It is men like the two I just mentioned who are making a case as to why Sheamus' time for the World Heavyweight Championship is running out. The Chairs match at TLC will allow the use of wrestling's time-honored foreign object, and while Sheamus made sure to demonstrate its offensive ability all over The Big Show after their match was thrown out at Survivor Series, The Big Show was not able to do the same inside the ring.

One on one, Sheamus has yet to pin The Big Show. After watching The Big Show tear apart a chair with his bare hands, he gave Sheamus a look as if to say "Yeah, good luck with that." The Big Show is at his most dominant right now in his entire career, and even taking a White Noise on occasion is not going to stop him from holding the World Heavyweight Championship for a good amount of time.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

More to the point, other people have earned their shots by now. Wade Barrett may come out of TLC as the Intercontinental Champion, but should he lose to Kofi Kingston, Barrett is more than qualified to jump right into the race for the World Heavyweight Championship, perhaps even wrestling for it at the Royal Rumble. Randy Orton has been out of the picture for some time as well, and as of this writing, he does not even have a match scheduled for TLC.

Furthermore, the man who never got his singles rematch against The Big Show is still waiting for his moment to return. Mark Henry has not been seen on TV since February and has to be as anxious as anyone to get back in the ring. A surprise return as a monster face to counter The Big Show's run as champion would add to what is already going to be a loaded Royal Rumble event.

All told, Sheamus had a great run as champion after initially besting Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. If he can't win at TLC, and I don't think he will, it's time to move on. Where he will factor into this coming WrestleMania is hard to say, but I do expect him to make a strong showing inside the Royal Rumble match itself, should he be a participant. The Big Show has just as impressive a run as champion ahead of him, something he has more than earned by now.